Write a lot. And I mean a lot. I once read that being a writer was not a hobby, it was an affliction. That rings true for me. I’m forever trying out new stories, trying out new opening chapters, etc.  Only a small portion of these ideas ends up on the to do pile on my word processor……And write regularly.  Set yourself targets as in I will not stop until I have completed 1,000 words. Occasionally I hire a cottage for a week to concentrate on launching myself into a new book. The pattern is to write 2,000 words in the morning.Then have lunch and go for a long walk on the beach.  Then write 2,000 words in the afternoon, have dinner, a bath and write 2,000 words in the evening. By the end of the week I usually have a fifth to a quarter of the book in the bag.

 ~ Simon Scarrow